Site Export

The Site Export admin page lets network administrators package one site, or the whole network, into a downloadable archive for migration, backup, or hand-off work.

Exporting one site

Go to Ultimate Multisite > Site Export and choose Generate new Site Export. Select the subsite you want to export, then choose whether the archive should include uploads, plugins, and themes.

When the export completes, download the ZIP from the Existing Exports list. Export ZIPs now include a self-booting index.php and a readme.txt, so the archive can be uploaded to a fresh host and started without first installing a separate importer plugin.

Exporting the whole network

Use Network Export on the Site Export page when you need a single archive containing all subsites in the network. This is useful before host migrations, disaster-recovery drills, or staging rebuilds where each subsite needs to travel together.

Because a network export can be much larger than a single-site export, run it during a low-traffic window and confirm the target storage has enough free space for uploads, plugins, themes, and generated ZIP files.

Network Import Bundles

Starting with Ultimate Multisite 2.12.0, Site Exporter can generate network import bundles — specialized archives designed for streamlined network-wide site restoration. A network import bundle contains all the necessary files and metadata to restore multiple sites to a new network installation.

Generating a Network Import Bundle

1. Go to Ultimate Multisite > Site Export
2. Click Generate new Network Export
3. Select Network Import Bundle as the export type
4. Choose whether to include uploads, plugins, and themes
5. Click Generate
6. Download the bundle ZIP from the Existing Exports list

Restoring from a Network Import Bundle

To restore sites from a network import bundle:

1. Install Ultimate Multisite on your target host
2. Complete the multisite setup wizard
3. Go to Ultimate Multisite > Site Export on the new network
4. Click Import Network Bundle
5. Upload the network import bundle ZIP file
6. Follow the on-screen import instructions
7. The import process will restore all sites, their content, and configurations

Network import bundles preserve:

• Site content (posts, pages, custom post types)
• Site settings and options
• User roles and permissions
• Plugins and themes (if included in the bundle)
• Media uploads (if included in the bundle)
• Custom database tables and data

Installing a self-booting export ZIP

To restore a self-booting ZIP on a fresh host:

1. Upload the exported ZIP contents to the target web root.
2. Open the uploaded index.php in a browser.
3. Follow the on-screen installer instructions from the bundled export package.
4. Review the bundled readme.txt for export-specific notes before removing temporary files.

For addon-specific installation and import details, see the Site Exporter addon documentation.

For the single-site tool added in Ultimate Multisite 2.9.0, see Export & Import.